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Probable Pitching Matchups
Saturday: Alex Lyons (So, RHP) vs. NEB's Chance Sinclair (Sr, RHP)
Sunday: Gavin Downs (Jr, RHP) vs. NEB's Kyle Kubat (Sr, LHP)
Monday: Brett Haan (Sr, RHP) vs. NEB's Derek Burkamper (So, RHP)
Series History
All-Time: Tied 7-7
All-Time in Lincoln: Purdue leads 2-1
Purdue Under Doug Schreiber vs. Nebraska: Nebraska leads 4-2 (Since 1999)
Last Series: Nebraska swept a three-game series in West Lafayette (April 2013)
Last Series in Lincoln: Purdue won 2-of-3 (April 2012)
First Meeting: Nebraska 13, Purdue 1 (May 1899 in West Lafayette)
Weekend Weather Forecast for Lincoln, Neb.
Saturday: 67 degrees, clear skies
Sunday: 73 degrees, clear skies
Monday: 62 degrees, clear skies
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Purdue baseball begins its busy home stretch with its second Saturday through Monday series of the year, traveling to Nebraska for the season's final Big Ten road weekend.
First pitch at Haymarket Park in Lincoln is set for 1 p.m. ET Saturday and 2 p.m. ET Sunday and Monday. The series was shifted to Saturday-Monday due to finals exams for both universities during the first week of May.
The series not starting until Saturday came in handy besides just the additional time for final exams. The outfield of Hawks Field at Haymarket Park was submerged by standing water Thursday morning after flash flooding hit Lincoln overnight Wednesday. Nebraska's capital city received 6 ½ inches of rain in a short time. With the infield already in better shape after being tarped during the storm, the Haymarket Park grounds crew was remarkably efficient in removing the standing water in the outfield in just 24 hours. Saturday's game time was actually moved up two hours due to the threat of more rain in the late afternoon.
The Boilermakers (15-33, 2-16 Big Ten) are set to close out their regular season with seven games in eight days, stopping at Valparaiso on their way home for Tuesday's midweek finale at Valparaiso. Purdue hosts Penn State for the final Big Ten weekend, but as is customary, it's a Thursday through Saturday series. The Boilers need to sweep Nebraska this weekend to keep any Big Ten Tournament hopes alive.
The Huskers (33-17, 8-10 Big Ten) have been strong at home this season, compiling a 20-4 mark at Haymarket Park while recording 20 of their 33 overall wins at home. Ohio State is the only visiting team to win a series in Lincoln this year and it took a pair of 10-innings victories for the Buckeyes to accomplish the feat. Purdue's 2012 Big Ten championship team won two of three at Haymarket Park in the program's first-ever trip to the state of Nebraska. However, Brandon Krieg is the only active Boiler that played in the series, pinch running in the rubber game victory.
Nebraska was one of two Big Ten teams (along with Northwestern) that Purdue did not play last season.
Yesterday. Today.
Great work grounds crew!
#Huskers pic.twitter.com/EIa5m7xJAm
-- Nebraska Baseball (@Husker_Baseball) May 8, 2015
Alex Lyons will have an opportunity to start on the mound Friday for the Boilers after putting together his best outing of the season Saturday at Michigan State. The sophomore struck out five over five innings of one-run relief and will now become only the seventh Purdue pitcher to start a game this season. That is the team's fewest since using only six starting pitchers over 59 games in 2012.
Nebraska leads the Big Ten with a .981 fielding percentage, committing only 38 errors in 50 games. The Huskers in turn have surrendered only 20 unearned runs this season. While the Boilers' have not played as well defensively as a year ago when they were among the best in the Big Ten, they've also had a tougher time pitching over errors. Purdue has given up 51 unearned runs while committing 60 errors in 48 games.
The Huskers' weekend rotation pitches to contact for the most part. Chance Sinclair, Kyle Kubat and Derek Burkamper average only 5.9 strikeouts per nine innings as a trio, although relievers Colton Howell (29 K in 25 2/3 IP) and Josh Roeder (25 K in 18 IP) represent a couple power arms in the bullpen. Roeder broke the program's all-time saves record this year. He's a true one-inning closer, recording 14 saves while pitching just 18 innings in 18 appearances in 2015.
Former Boilermaker Brad Schreiber's brother Scott is a freshman first baseman for Nebraska, seeing action in 35 of his team's 50 games. Brad is off to a strong start in his second full season of pro ball, serving as the closer for the Charlotte Stone Crabs, the Tampa Bays Rays affiliate in the High-A Florida State League.
Nebraska is looking for consecutive NCAA Regional appearances for the first time since qualifying in four straight years from 2005-08. However, after finishing third and second in the Big Ten standings the last two years, respectively, the Huskers are still very much fighting to get into the Big Ten Tournament this season. With an 8-10 league mark and a series at Big Ten-leading Illinois up next, Nebraska still has a lot of work to do to finish at .500 in the conference this year. That speaks to how good the Big Ten has been in 2015.
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